


New Beginning

by FlareLunari



Category: Tales of Zestiria
Genre: M/M, Mikleo works with kids, Minor Character Death, Seraph Taccio is a little boy here, Sorey is a daddy, cliche stuff, i just liked the name
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-12-08
Updated: 2017-12-08
Packaged: 2019-02-12 04:31:31
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,445
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/12951345
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/FlareLunari/pseuds/FlareLunari
Summary: Sorey just took a new job in a different city and things are very stressful - especially handling his son, since he doesn't really know how to parent properly. Taccio's first day of kindergarten is a bit of a disaster but possibly also the start of something wonderful ...





	New Beginning

**Author's Note:**

> Day 8 of the Sormik Advent Calendar :3
> 
> My prompt was 'snowball fight' (and I interpreted it a little er ... differently x))

Usually Sorey was a very patient person, but apparently even that patience had an end. The kid drove him insane.

“Taccio, come on! Please get out of the car; I need to go to work soon.”

The little boy just crossed his arms and looked at Sorey as if he wanted to say ‘make me’. He really didn’t know how to handle this situation anymore. The kid’s behavior got worse from day to day and nothing he tried made it any better. Spending more time with his son would have been preferable, but it just wasn’t possible for Sorey to put off work any longer.

“I’ll take you to the Christmas market down the street later if you’re a good boy, okay?”

Taccio sniffed, but finally got out of the car. With a sigh of relief Sorey took his hand and they started walking towards the very colorful building a few meter ahead of them. To his embarrassment Sorey didn’t really know where they were even supposed to go, because he had never actually been here before. All the paperwork had been done by his secretary who had recommended this particular kindergarten since her own daughter went there as well.

A few children were playing in the snow and Sorey looked at Taccio who didn’t even try to run to them and participate. He really wondered if things would ever get any easier. After a moment of consideration he dragged his son over to the other children anyway.

“Go on and play with the other kids, yeah? I’ll be back in a moment.”

When he got no response, Sorey sighed and went in search of the person in charge anyway. A minute or two later he realized that it was easier said than done. Just as he was walking back to where he left his son; the kids suddenly started laughing. A man stood there, wiping what must have been the remains of a snowball out of his face. Taccio’s hand was still raised, but his face was mostly expressionless. Great.

“Taccio!”

Everyone turned towards Sorey as he hurried over – including the man that had been hit with the snowball. Taccio looked a little guilty, but then just sniffed again and turned away, as if he was sure Sorey wouldn’t punish him anyway. Out of his depth as usual, Sorey turned to the man instead. He had long white hair, tied up in a ponytail and the most extraordinary lavender eyes Sorey had ever seen. He probably stared for a second too long, because the stranger raised his eyebrows in question.

“Ah, I’m so sorry for what my son did. Are you alright?”

The man chuckled and nodded his head before he directed a kind smile towards Sorey.

“Yeah yeah, don’t worry. I’m used to it – occupational hazard and all. When you work with kids a lot worse could happen at any time. I’m Mikleo Rulay by the way – and you are?”

It seemed like he had finally found the person he was searching for all along. So this would be Taccio’s new kindergarten teacher – that could be interesting. It wasn’t very professional and he felt instantly bad about it, but Sorey just couldn’t help himself – he was instantly attracted to the guy. Not that anything would come of it. Any kind of romantic relationship was completely out of the question right now and he had only just met the guy.

“Oh, I totally forgot to introduce myself, sorry! My name is Sorey Shepherd and the little one here is Taccio; my son.”

Mikleo nodded, but instead of paying any more attention to Sorey, he went to Taccio and squatted down in front of the boy.

“Hey there! Nice to meet you, Taccio.”

A gentle smile accompanied his words and Sorey could almost see the internal struggle in his son, before he actually reached out and took the hand Mikleo had offered to him. He wondered what kind of magic tricks this man used, but if it would help Taccio to get better – anything was appreciated. Because clearly his own parenting skills completely sucked.

The little boy willingly walked with Mikleo towards the door and the teacher made sure Sorey was following them before he spoke again.

“I need you to sign some paperwork before you leave, but it shouldn’t take long.”

Sorey nodded dumbly and followed. Again Mikleo squatted down to Taccio’s height and spoke a few words to him – which Sorey couldn’t hear this time. Then he ruffled the boy’s hair and Taccio actually smiled at him for a second; something Sorey hadn’t seen since –

“Are you alright?”

He hadn’t even noticed how his thoughts had drifted off. Sorey nodded slowly and smiled apologetically.

“Yeah, sorry. It’s just ... I haven’t seen him smile like that in a long time.”

A warm hand touched his shoulder and it made Sorey shiver a little. He was grateful for the display of support and allowed himself to enjoy it for a moment.

“It’s this way to the office.”

They walked in silence and Sorey signed the paperwork after quickly skimming over it and filling in his contact details.

“Thank you, Mr. Shepherd. Will you be picking him up later today?”

Sorey nodded and smiled.

“Yeah, I will. And please just call me Sorey, if that is alright with you.”

His job required a lot of formality, so Sorey tried to eliminate it everywhere else in his life – if he could get away with it.

“Ah, yes – of course. If you have the time, would you mind dropping by my office for a few minutes before you take him home? I’d like to speak to you about Taccio.”

The small smile on his lips instantly vanished and he wanted to say no, but nodded instead. Mikleo had to know what he was dealing with, after all. Maybe Taccio would tell him some things but only Sorey could fill him in on the big picture.

“Thank you, I appreciate that. My office is directly next to the classroom you saw earlier, so it shouldn’t be too hard to find.”

Mikleo winked at him and Sorey couldn’t help but stare again. The fluorescent lights caught in the man’s hair and he only just noticed the light blue tips. How did someone like Mikleo Rulay end up in a kindergarten of all places?

Just in that moment his phone vibrated and Sorey cursed under his breath when he saw the time. The kindergarten teacher raised his eyebrows at him again and Sorey mumbled an apology.

“I have to run now, but I will be seeing you later!”

Before Mikleo could respond anything, Sorey had already taken off down the corridor and towards the door. His secretary had just sent a reminder that his first client of the day would be arriving in half an hour, so Sorey had to get to his office as soon as possible. He still had to change clothes and read through the case file so he was really running late. Having a kid was hard work.

\---

The day went by a lot faster than anticipated and soon enough it was four in the afternoon – time to collect Taccio from kindergarten. Sorey had made it in time for his first client, but his schedule had been tightly packed after that, so he took a moment for a much needed breather. His stomach was growling and he quickly ate a packet of crackers that Melody had handed him earlier. His secretary was a real trooper and Sorey was grateful to have her, otherwise he would probably only live off coffee.

He dreaded the conversation with Mikleo a little and tried to come up with reasons not to talk to the man, but came up empty-handed. There really was no reason – apart from his own emotions. Sorey leaned back in his office chair and closed his eyes before he finally dragged himself to the bathroom so he could change. It was a relief to get rid of the suit and tie and wear more comfortable clothes again. He really loved his job, but the formal clothing – not so much.

When he arrived at the kindergarten the building looked rather deserted already and Sorey wondered if he really was that late. After shaking the snow off his shoes at the entrance he made his way to the classroom and saw Taccio play with two other kids. So he definitely wasn’t too late. Someone cleared his throat and Sorey nearly jumped at the sound. Mikleo was leaning against the door jamb of the adjacent room and watched him. Sorey felt a little uncomfortable under the intense scrutinizing but walked a few steps towards the other man who indicated for him to enter the office.

It was the complete opposite of his own office at the law firm. Drawings covered the walls and it was bright and friendly – not sterile and stuffy. There was a glass door to the classroom and he could even watch his son from playing. For a moment Sorey did just that and jumped a little when he heard Mikleo’s voice directly behind him – could feel the other man’s warm breath on his neck. Why was he so close?

“He has quieted down now, but there were some moments during the day where Taccio was very restless and almost aggressive. What happened to him?”

Straight to the point. Sorey had hoped to ease into the topic with a little small talk, but apparently that wouldn’t happen. With a sigh he pushed some strands of hair behind his ear – a habit when he was nervous – and sat on one of the chairs in front of Mikleo’s desk.

“We just moved here and things are new for him ... I thought starting over elsewhere would be a good idea, so I ... I took a job here and with the move and everything I didn’t have enough time for Taccio, and ...”

Sorey knew he was rambling, but getting the words out was hard. Yet again he could feel the hand on his shoulder and looked up at Mikleo, who smiled and gave his shoulder a short squeeze. As a lawyer he always had difficult cases and while that was no problem for Sorey – as soon as his own feelings were involved he became a complete mess.

“Easy there, okay? I’m not judging you Sorey, so please calm down.”

He took a deep breath and nodded. Being here would be good for Taccio, so Mikleo needed to know.

“About three months ago his mother died.”

His voice was shaky and Sorey had a hard time pulling himself together. He hadn’t really talked to anyone about the whole situation, had pushed it as far away as he could and focused on the move and work. Mikleo didn’t say anything and Sorey was grateful for that.

“You see, Alisha was a policewoman, basically lived for her job – and Taccio. She got called into a hostage situation and ...”

Again he had to stop talking and only just realized that the hand on his shoulder had never vanished. Even though he didn’t know the other man well, it gave Sorey the support he needed to keep talking.

“She was talking to the guy, to calm him down and apparently thought the situation was already resolved, because he’d let the hostage go. When she turned around to speak to her partner, he ... They said the knife went right into her heart and she died immediately.”

A lone tear ran down Sorey’s cheek and he wiped it away swiftly, didn’t want to break down in front of Mikleo. He was supposed to be strong and a good parent – he needed to be strong for Taccio.

“You must have loved her a lot.”

The comment took him a bit by surprise and Sorey looked at Mikleo for a moment, wondering where that came from. But he realized that he hadn’t really mentioned a lot about their little family.

“Yeah, I did ... She was like the sister I never had.”

They had met in court when Alisha was guarding one of the witnesses and immediately hit it off. Whenever their busy schedules allowed it the two of them had met up and went out to drink, see a movie – whatever friends did together. Until Taccio came into the picture and things got a lot closer than that.

“Sister?”

Sorey nodded and debated with himself for a little before he finally decided to tell Mikleo all of it.

“We were never romantically involved. Alisha just wanted a child – without the hassle of a relationship. At first I didn’t want to do it, but she seemed so desperate that I agreed to donate my sperm. That’s how Taccio came to be. And while I didn’t live with them, I made sure to spend time with him whenever I could.”

Surprise was written all over Mikleo’s face and Sorey could practically see all the questions the other man wanted to ask. Yet he didn’t.

“I understand. It’s only normal that he misses his mother and because he doesn’t know what to do about it he gets angry.”

It made a lot of sense, but Sorey was so stressed that he hadn’t even thought about it.

“I know this is a very odd request, but do you think you could give me some pointers? I feel like I’m horrible at this whole parenting thing ...”

He felt like a total idiot and Mikleo’s laughter didn’t really make it better. Maybe he shouldn’t have asked. The other man quieted down after a moment and smiled brightly at Sorey.

“Yes, of course. That’s sort of what I’m here for anyway and I don’t mind spending a little extra time with you – and Taccio.”

Sorey tried his best not to interpret more into that statement than he should and smiled back. When he looked over to the classroom he realized that Taccio was alone. Their conversation had taken way longer than he anticipated and it really was time to leave. After all he had made a promise to his son.

“I think we should really go now. I didn’t want to take up more of your time and I promised Taccio to take him to the Christmas market.”

He got up and Mikleo did the same, grabbing his winter coat.

“Yeah, it is getting late. I actually got off half an hour ago, but I felt this was important enough to stay a little longer.”

The white ponytail curled over his shoulder before he brushed it away and Sorey couldn’t help himself again. He stared – wondering if the white strands were as soft to the touch as they looked. He really had his priorities all wrong, but ...

“Really? I can’t tell you enough how much I appreciate this. Say ... Would you, uhm ... Would you maybe want to come with us? If you’re free that is. I would like to invite you to a cup of hot chocolate or something like that – as a thank you.”

Mikleo studied his face very intensely for a second and Sorey thought he would definitely decline, but to his surprise the other man nodded.

“I’d love to. I don’t have any plans so this is definitely a lot better than going home to my cat.”

They laughed together and finally left the office to get Taccio. The little boy looked at them questioningly and his expressionless face transformed into a smile when Sorey told him about their plans. He came running with a skip in his step and grabbed Sorey’s hand before he paused for a moment – and then grabbed Mikleo’s as well. The two adults looked at each other and Sorey didn’t really know how to react. There was this weird feeling in his chest, but he chose not to dwell on it. There would be time for that later.

\---

A week had passed since Sorey had brought Taccio to kindergarten the first time and while his son was still rather quiet, he had definitely perked up some. He had a suspicion that it had a lot to do with a certain kindergarten teacher named Mikleo. And if he was being honest – talking to Mikleo was good for him as well.

Sorey had gotten rather attached to the man. They had talked a lot during that visit to the Christmas market and every day since, because he always made sure to show up a little early and talk to Mikleo for a few minutes if there was time. He even had the other man’s number saved in his phone now – for emergencies of course. Yet Sorey couldn’t help but feel like a teenager with a crush whenever he saw the man. It was completely ridiculous.

The day before Mikleo had invited him to come by early, because he was baking with the kids and always needed parents who volunteered to help. Sorey had basically jumped at the opportunity and rescheduled all of his appointments for the next day. It wasn’t really an emergency, but this would be a good way to spend time with his son. He had gotten better at that, but it would be easier to get Taccio to open up with others around – especially Mikleo.

So he had again traded his suit for casual clothes after he’d done some paperwork and made his way over to the kindergarten.

\---

Mikleo was absolutely dreadful at baking. It made Sorey wonder if he couldn’t cook either, which in turn made him want to get ahead of himself and invite the man to dinner. So he tried to focus on helping Taccio and the other kids cut out cookie shapes instead. A few others were there as well – but all women. They mostly stood together in a corner and whispered with each other. It made Sorey slightly uncomfortable, especially when one of them started flirting with Mikleo. He handled her gracefully but the display of cleavage and fluttering of eyelashes was almost nauseating.

“Everything okay?”

The object of his thoughts had silently crept up on him and Sorey jumped slightly. What was he supposed to say to that? Instead of answering the question he decided to change the subject.

“Are those women always like that?”

One or two had hit on him as well, but Sorey was a lot less kind when handling them. He immediately slipped into his lawyer persona, which had quickly put an end to any and all advances from mothers.

“Ah, yes they are. It does get tedious though, especially when they don’t take the hint that I’m not interested.”

Since Sorey was already slightly annoyed by the women and feeling bold – he decided to push the issue a bit further. Maybe he would actually get an answer.

“Are you taken then?”

He knew it was a very direct and private question, but Mikleo didn’t appear to mind. Instead he gave Sorey that weird intense look again and – smirked.

“No, but they’re not quite my type – if you know what I mean.”

Mikleo actually winked at him and pushed past Sorey to help a few of the kids, but he walked by so close that their arms touched for a moment. He wasn’t stupid, but Sorey didn’t really know what to make of that. Was Mikleo flirting with him? Did he give Mikleo the impression that he was flirting? Was he trying to say that he was actually not interested in them because they were women? Again he decided not to dwell on it.

When the kids had finished cutting enough cookies to fill an entire tray, Sorey took it to the kitchen. Mikleo was there and observed the cookies that were already in the oven. When he turned towards Sorey the man couldn’t hold in his laughter. Quite a bit of flour dusted Mikleo’s nose and he didn’t seem to have a clue. Channeling that boldness from earlier Sorey took a few steps towards the other man and reached out to remove the offending substance. He only managed to clear off a little bit though, because Mikleo turned his head in surprise and Sorey’s hand ended up on the other man’s cheek. He was so tempted to stroke it gently, but kept himself in check.

“There’s flour on your nose.”

He spoke quietly and saw Mikleo’s eyes widen, before the other man took a step back, furiously wiping his face.

“I ... Thank you for telling me.”

They stared at each other and then Mikleo basically fled the kitchen, mumbling something about checking on the kids. Sorey stared after him for a moment and decided that maybe pursuing a relationship with the cute kindergarten teacher was actually a possibility.

**Author's Note:**

> This was supposed to be just a oneshot but I kinda have ideas for a part 2. Would anyone want to read that? :3


End file.
